The story behind Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is quite fascinating, although it is rather unlikely to score high on credibility. China's economy has been constantly expanding, until the financial crisis in 2008 caused a sudden contraction that resulted in high unemployment and civil unrest. Since most of the oil reserves were squandered during the flourishing years, the largest communist country turns its attention on the island of Skira, near its borders.
This imaginary island is particularly rich in oil but unfortunately it is under Russian control, so the stage is set for a fierce conflict between the two nuclear powers. Following the Cold War, the US and Russia signed an alliance and now the Americans are rushing in to prevent a full blown conflict in the far East. USS Iwo Jima is deployed and the marines are sent in to deal with the threat, so you'll be shifting between 2nd Lt. Mulholland and Sgt. Hunter during the campaign, comprised of 11 missions.
Basically you are leading a small unit, simply executing orders and trying to accomplish as many missions without putting your life in danger and prevent your squad from getting slaughtered as well. Depending on the chosen difficulty, you'll get more or less assistance and benefit of checkpoints, but otherwise the game runs pretty much the same and the enemy is unforgiving. Assignments range from securing certain objectives, annihilating key targets or extracting and escorting crashed pilots, behind enemy lines.
Don't expect Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising to be your everyday FPS, as storming an enemy base alone, or trying to gun down an entire squad of hostile troops by yourself, will cause an untimely death. A single bullet is usually enough to kill, or at least critically injure you regardless of the difficulty, while the harder modes will further aggravate you mission by eliminating essential features. If realism is what defines you, then be prepared to memorize your remaining bullets, check up teammates for injuries and listen to enemy broadcasts for intels.
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Your arsenal is both diverse and accurate, but my guess is that you'll never wind up using the pistol or the knife and instead you'll love guns fitted with a scope. It's also clever to save bullets for your sniper, because although it is possible to pick up weapons from dead foes, they are usually wielding machine guns. The recipe for success is to take cover and pick your targets carefully, allow them to advance instead of losing temper and take risks, and remember to shoot a bit higher when the target is far away. Both you and the teammates can be bandaged after being hit by a bullet, but unless medical treatment is available fast, either one will bleed to death.
I found it quite challenging to accomplish a mission without involving my squad members, but due to the unreliable control scheme, I had to limit their interference. Basically you are forced to navigate through a console-like menu, which makes it much more difficult to issue coherent orders in split seconds, especially under heavy enemy fire. The AI is decent and flanking is something to be taken into consideration at all times, but frequent enough your teammates will cause more trouble than expected. Their main flaw is the tendency of getting stuck behind small obstacles instead of taking cover, or rushing blindly to the enemy, while attempting to heal a fallen soldier.
Fighting enemies is just a small part of what Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising has to offer, while planning and executive the preemptive strikes plays a role just as important. This involves long marches, which make the praised 220 square kilometers available to explore quite intimidating, especially when most of this area will be traversed on foot. Vehicles are rare, but I wouldn't complain too much about it, since they are both unappealing visually, tough to steer and very vulnerable to enemy fire. For the less dedicated players these insanely long walks can have a deterring effect, even if we don't include here the amount of time spent crawling and crouching.
Otherwise the controls are intuitive and responsive, making those long strides and brief fire fights very exciting. It's true that you can't jump and even the tiniest obstacles must be avoided, but you can vault over fences and debris. Furthermore the realism is enhanced by the fact that it takes a little time to prone and then get back on your feet, and its virtually impossible to sprint while ascending a steep slope. On the other hand, I found it rather disturbing how a soldier carrying a lot of equipment and 2-3 heavy guns, could climb some abrupt hills.
When everything works smoothly the game is very rewarding, and completing side missions comes in as a natural way to maximize your role on the battlefield. Furthermore, wiping out SAM sites or annihilating small squads of enemies wielding anti-tank weapons, presents you with the opportunity of calling in fire support such as artillery barrages, mortar and air strikes. Destructible environments further increase the fun factor, since unleashing an air strike on a hostile camp or blowing up a fuel tank will have a devastating effect on the nearby buildings.
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Conclusion:
I find it hard to believe that anyone familiar with the expression "military simulator" can get confused and purchase Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising for the thrills of a typical FPS. This title is much more than your regular shooter, upholding patience and careful planning above accuracy and reflexes. Despite the occasional troubles with the AI controlled teammates, the rather tedious long marches and the sporadic checkpoint issues, this is one of the best games of its genre and a worthy addition to the franchise.
Gameplay: 78
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is not as difficult and complex as ArmA 2, but it is much better looking and has enough compelling elements to deliver a solid gameplay. Missions share the similar objectives, but succeed in keeping the player wired by presenting multiple ways of dealing with a problem. Regardless of the chosen difficulty, this game demands full focus and will punish any heroic action that disregards common sense regarding military operations.
Graphics: 83
If you own a powerful machine that allows you to run the game on high details, than this title is going to look spectacular. Units are carefully detailed and although it is most unlikely to ever get the chance of observing the face of a living enemy, animations are excellent and resemble real life. Textures on the other way are far from impressive, grass, trees and vegetation altogether failing to dazzle the eye.
Sounds: 80
For a game that completely lacks music, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is hard to be criticized in terms of sound effects. Personally, I totally agree with the decision of keeping music out of the picture, as it would have alter the feeling of realism. On the other hand, this title makes up for the absence of a central theme, with inspiring sound effects and excellent voice acting. Switching and firing weapons sounds exactly as you'd expect it to do, while orders uttered in military jargon deliver an appropriate atmosphere.
Multiplayer: 81
If you find it too risky to trust your AI controlled teammates with your life, there is the possibility of completing the campaign in Co-Op, or jump directly to multiplayer. Either way you'll find yourself pursuing targets alongside human controlled squad members, more reliable and unlikely to fail on executing basic orders. Up to 32 players can join the fight divided in two teams, making the most of the big maps and the open environment.
Hardware: 79
I have to say that for what this game has to offer, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising runs smoothly on nowadays computers even with the details set on high quality. Be advised though not to get greedy, because sacrificing the gameplay for the sake of visual contentment is a grave mistake that will send you into a world of pain and frustration.